Monday, April 4, 2011

Safe From Harm: The Insider

Grains of hyper-realized truth embedded within the framework of a film are sometimes easy to pluck at. The end card tells us some of these events were exaggerated for dramatic effect. Yet, it's able to get away with it. In terms of truth telling, this is a film that bats in the 90's. Chronicling a crucial turning point in American journalism but more importantly painting a picture of a man whose integrity is at stake. It's a murky sea of moral dilemmas that pervade the frames & will wipe the smirk off your face faster than a Bruce McGill outburst.

Mann has always had a penchant for realism and this is by far the best example of that. Not to mention the use of surrealism in the night time golf & mural transformation scenes. Employing wide shots, intense close ups and indirect focus. Razor sharp cutting that isn't showy- it moves the scenes along to a certain rhythm that never feels forced. The bullets that once hummed along L.A. city streets are now being placed in mailboxes. The dialogue cascading from a red screen on Wigand's computer to faxes, right up to to the corporate news offices of 60 Minutes. This film is porn for people who love smart dialogue. Unrelenting in its delivery of intelligent material and morality plays. The soundtrack adds a whole other dimension to the proceedings and is the decor of this sound structure. There is a certain point at the ending that has plucked at my heartstrings with somber rhythms. Rhythms rarely felt. Lisa Gerrard has a hand in it. Her soothing voice stirring up honest emotions. I feel like I am a better person for having watched it. There's not too many works of art I can say that about. Top 10 worthy. A+